Sorry if you live in these US counties. Hopes of the American dream are long gone for you. Dead.

[Polymath257]

The better things are the more ol' doom n gloomers
will hold forth- staff upon yon hill, robes
billowing in the rising wind. Beware, oh beware, for lo,
verily doth Godzilla, grim and importunate, descend even
now on fiery wing, to wreak doleful destruction upon ye,
Oh my Babylon!!

Some of our oh-it-is- so-dreadful folks really outta go
hang for a spell, chill, in Cameroon, Chad, Myanmar,
N Korea, or even some nice places like Mongolia or
Equador!

And I agree. We are still better off than most. But we are in decline. I'm guessing we will be the 'Old Man' before too much longer.

 

[Audie]

It's all about proper attitude.
You & I have each endured some stress,
yet boundless optimism let's us sally forth.

Or maybe being a spoilt brat.

But regardless, life is whatcha make of it.
The USA is ridiculously far from perfect!
Always has been, looks to continue.
I just dont get listing all this shyt that is
so awful, instead of going out and making
the most of it!

My bf's family fled with nothing ahead of
the Nazi death camps. The are like upper east
side now.

Let those who will, complain. Let them.

 

[Audie]

And I agree. We are still better off than most. But we are in decline. I'm guessing we will be the 'Old Man' before too much longer.

Nah.

 

[Twilight Hue]

The divide between the "haves" and the "have nots" is continuing to get worse. This article was about those on the bottom sinking further. I just read another about how those on top are doing better and better.

This divide can't continue forever. Sooner or late there will be a gentle or violent redress. We could become a Venezuela which was caused by those in the bottom getting some help at the cost of the country's economic system, for example. We could see a more positive outcome.

Adjusted for inflation we generally make less now than those who were in the past.

Of course when you have 500 to even a thousand percent markup on products and services it's no small wonder why people just can't get ahead no matter how hard they try.

 

[Duke_Leto]

Adjusted for inflation we generally make less now than those who were in the past.

Of course when you have 500 to even a thousand percent markup on products and services it's no small wonder why people just can't get ahead no matter how hard they try.

Because no matter to what extent worker productivity increases, capitalists will never pay much more than is required for workers to survive -- and often much under that. Thus we get social welfare, which enables companies to pay less and less, at least relative to inflation, and it keeps people complacent enough to not rise up en masse.

 

[Woberts]

Because no matter to what extent worker productivity increases, capitalists will never pay much more than is required for workers to survive -- and often much under that. Thus we get social welfare, which enables companies to pay less and less, at least relative to inflation, and it keeps people complacent enough to not rise up en masse.

There's also the whole "socialism bad because lol" mentality. Not lookin' good, I'd say.

 

[Revoltingest]

You really can't deny some decay there. The simple fact that nothing can get through Congress no matter which party is in power says something.

I've not claimed that all is hunky dory.
I've seen some things get better, & some decline.

At this point, the decay is about at the first year of undergraduate school. We can still field people to teach others, but there is a severe problem before college.
I've watched a serious decline over the past 40 years. That 'Nation at Risk' report from the 80's was spot on. And ignored.

Sounds like once I left school, things went down hill, eh.
Can this be quantified, just to ensure it isn't merely a pessimistic outlook?

Hmmm....since we don't have any heavy lifters of our own, pretty much every space fairing country. The good thing is our companies seem to be taking up the slack.

Actually, a couple heavy lifters are in the works.
But I say our real space exploration hasn't been sending men into space.
Sure, that's dramatic, but we get more info from unmanned probes &
remote sensing. NASA's faster-better-cheaper has been very cost
effective & productive. Telepresence is the future of space exploration.

I'm not sure if you are reading the same list I am. We are at 31 out of 183, putting us just ahead of Cuba and behind Greece, Cyprus, and Slovenia. To me, that isn't first world.

The differences are just a few years from the top spot to 31st.

American culture has always been a bit of a contradiction in terms.

That's glib but unconvincing.
One can focus upon what's awful, or on what's good.
Perhaps you should be watching Breaking Bad or Game Of Thrones
instead of Wheel Of Fortune or The Real Housewives Of Revoltistan?

Do you really believe we're no longer a first world country,
or was that a metaphor for dramatic effect.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Counties Where the American Dream Is Dead

It really makes you seriously wonder what first world really means when you look at all the ever-growing rot in this country.

Here are some facts associated with these counties.

The counties are found in 18 states.

56% are in the southern states. 22% are in midwestern states. The remaining four are in western, northern and eastern states.

72% are in red states.

78% are in states that Trump won.

90% of these counties were not won by Trump.

 

[sayak83]

Third world country?
Don't let dwelling on problems we have lead you
to think we're in da terlit with coprolitehole countries.
Cheer up....some things are still good.

Political system:
It endures, despite cries that the sky is falling.
I'll wager your left one that the 2020 election proceeds without a coup.
Sure, sure, we'll dislike the eventual nominees, but this is usually the
case. And we have the liberty to carp about them without sanction.

Education system:
Aren't you part of that? <snicker>
Where I live, we have foreign students flocking to the local university.
Were it so bad, I doubt that would happen.

Space program:
Name a country with a better one.

Life expectancy:
List of countries by life expectancy - Wikipedia
Still 1st world, even if many are a few years better.

Culture:
Game Of Thrones & Archer are back on the air.
And a Deadwood movie is in the works.

It is entirely proper to remain optimistic and strong on a personal level and still note that the economic and social structure as a whole has gone south.

 

[Revoltingest]

It is entirely proper to remain optimistic and strong on a personal level and still note that the economic and social structure as a whole has gone south.

I know that some people feel bad about things today.
I measure status by metrics different from lefties.
I see general progress in the last few years.
Lefties see us going down da terlit....but that appears to
be largely about anguish over hating Trump as a person.

We're a third world country?
That's losing touch with reality.

 

[sayak83]

I know that some people feel bad about things today.
I measure status by metrics different from lefties.
I see general progress in the last few years.
Lefties see us going down da terlit....but that appears to
be largely about anguish over hating Trump as a person.

We're a third world country?
That's losing touch with reality.

Social mobility is USA is going down precipitously. That's not a perception but fact.

 

[Revoltingest]

Social mobility is USA is going down precipitously. That's not a perception but fact.

That doesn't address the claim made at the beginning of this
discussion about Ameristan no longer being a first world country.

A parenthetical aside....a question about mobility....
How much is due to governmental/economic structure,
& how much to a sub-culture of fecklessness?

 

[sayak83]

That doesn't address the claim made at the beginning of this
discussion about Ameristan no longer being a first world country.

That's not the content of the OP post. First world, third world etc. are subjective comparisons. Here is a better way to parse the data.
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/02_economic_mobility_sawhill_ch3.pdf

The findings from cross-country research challenge the traditional view of the United States as a land with more mobility and opportunity than other countries. While cross-country comparisons of relative mobility rely on data and methodologies that are far from perfect, a growing number of economic studies have found that the United States stands out as having less, not more, intergenerational mobility than do Canada and several European countries. American children are more likely than other children to end up in the same place on the income distribution as their parents. Moreover, there is emerging evidence that mobility is particularly low for Americans born into families at the bottom of the earnings or income distribution.

Though based on shakier evidence, mobility rates in less developed countries appear to be lower than in the United States in some instances, but not significantly different in others.


Also see,
https://inequality.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/Pathways-SOTU-2016-Economic-Mobility-3.pdf

 

[BSM1]

Third world country?
Don't let dwelling on problems we have lead you
to think we're in da terlit with coprolitehole countries.
Cheer up....some things are still good.

Political system:
It endures, despite cries that the sky is falling.
I'll wager your left one that the 2020 election proceeds without a coup.
Sure, sure, we'll dislike the eventual nominees, but this is usually the
case. And we have the liberty to carp about them without sanction.

Education system:
Aren't you part of that? <snicker>
Where I live, we have foreign students flocking to the local university.
Were it so bad, I doubt that would happen.

Space program:
Name a country with a better one.

Life expectancy:
List of countries by life expectancy - Wikipedia
Still 1st world, even if many are a few years better.

Culture:
Game Of Thrones & Archer are back on the air.
And a Deadwood movie is in the works.

"Deadwood" is going to be a movie! Wow, I won't sleep tonight...

 

[Revoltingest]

That's not the content of the OP post.

I started conversing with Poly about his claim that we're no longer a
1st world country. I disagreed, & gave my reasons. You joined in on that.
Do you believe that we're a 3rd world country now?

 

[Revoltingest]

"Deadwood" is going to be a movie! Wow, I won't sleep tonight...

I hope that Swejjin & Wu have another Who's-on-first moment.

 

[Stevicus]

I know that some people feel bad about things today.
I measure status by metrics different from lefties.
I see general progress in the last few years.
Lefties see us going down da terlit....but that appears to
be largely about anguish over hating Trump as a person.

We're a third world country?
That's losing touch with reality.

It's not so much that we're a third world country yet, but that we've been slowly declining. In the years just after WW2, America was on top of the world, but not anymore. Our relative position in the world has been slipping. We're not in top form as we once were, and this has some people worried about the future.

Besides, even you have talked about how America would face disaster if we made a few minor tweaks in policy. You've told me this many times whenever I've talked about some of my proposals for change. That wouldn't be possible if our position was as strong as you're implying here.

 

[Polymath257]

I started conversing with Poly about his claim that we're no longer a
1st world country. I disagreed, & gave my reasons. You joined in on that.
Do you believe that we're a 3rd world country now?

I don't yet think we are third world. But we are in the second tier now. Struggling to maintain and having a lot of political issues.

 

[Revoltingest]

It's not so much that we're a third world country yet, but that we've been slowly declining. In the years just after WW2, America was on top of the world, but not anymore. Our relative position in the world has been slipping. We're not in top form as we once were, and this has some people worried about the future.

I see enormous progress since WW2, both economically & socially.

Besides, even you have talked about how America would face disaster if we made a few minor tweaks in policy. You've told me this many times whenever I've talked about some of my proposals for change. That wouldn't be possible if our position was as strong as you're implying here.

I don't know what "minor tweaks" you speak of.
So I don't buy that argument.

 

[Revoltingest]

I don't yet think we are third world. But we are in the second tier now. Struggling to maintain and having a lot of political issues.

Having political issues hardly makes us a non-1st world country.
We've had nasty rancor before in my lifetime (Vietnam era), & we thrived.
(Historically, it's been even worse...Civil War, WW1, WW2.)
And we've made progress in social areas since then, particularly in civil liberties.

Unlike some, I don't look back upon the post WW2 era as being our high point.
One can look at what's wrong at the moment, & suffer from ennui.
Or one can look at the total picture across time, & enjoy optimism.
You told yourself that we're essentially a 3rd world country.
But now you see us as a 1st world country with problems.
I hope this change boosts your spirits.
Too many people are steering themselves into a pessimistic funk.

Parenthetical aside....
I wondered if there were a "2nd world country" in between the "1st" & "3rd".
There is, but it doesn't apply to us.
Ref....
First, Second, and Third World - Nations Online Project